Editing Errol Flynn (section)

===Statutory rape charges===
In late 1942, two 17-year-old girls, Betty Hansen<ref>{{cite news|first=Florabel|last=Muir|title=Cast as a Villain, Errol Plans a New Battle|work=Daily News|location=New York|date=18 October 1942|page=88}}</ref> and Peggy Satterlee,<ref>{{cite news|title=Flynn and Peggy on Yacht|work=Des Moines Register|date=5 November 1942|page=9}}</ref> separately accused Flynn of [[statutory rape]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.today.com/news/here-we-go-again-wbna6929318|title=Statutory Rape Charges|publisher=Today.com|date=1 March 2005|access-date=14 February 2010}}</ref> at the [[Bel Air, Los Angeles|Bel Air]] home of Flynn's friend [[Frederick McEvoy]], and on board Flynn's yacht ''Sirocco'', respectively. The scandal received immense press attention. Many of Flynn's fans founded organisations to publicly protest the accusation. One such group, the American Boys' Club for the Defense of Errol Flynn—ABCDEF—accumulated a substantial membership that included [[William F. Buckley Jr.]]<ref>Valenti, Peter. ''Errol Flynn: A Bio-Bibliography'', pg. 141.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>

The trial took place in late January and early February 1943. Satterlee testified that she had sex twice with Flynn aboard his boat when she was 15 years of age.<ref name="Advertiser1942">[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48888810?searchTerm=fred%20mcevoy&searchLimits=Flynn's Host Sued For Divorce], ''[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]]'', 28 October 1942. Retrieved 26 October 2011.</ref> Photographer [[Peter Stackpole]], who joined Flynn's yacht cruise at [[Santa Catalina Island (California)|Catalina Island]] on assignment for ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine, testified that Flynn and Satterlee spent hours together below decks, with the crew staying above, and that Satterlee was angry with Flynn and sullen afterward.<ref name=SeattleTimes>{{cite news |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19930318/1691068/shooting-stars----peter-stackpole-one-of-lifes-original-photographers-made-a-name-for-himself-through-his-hollywood-focus |title=Shooting Stars – Peter Stackpole, One Of Life's Original Photographers, Made A Name For Himself Through His Hollywood Focus |date=18 March 1993 |last=Ament |first=Deloris Tarzan |newspaper=[[Seattle Times]] |access-date=20 December 2024}}</ref> Flynn denied everything, and blamed Stackpole's photography assignment for the presence of Satterlee on the yacht.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/61840232|title=Errol Flynn's Trial|newspaper=[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]]|date=29 January 1943|page=1|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Flynn's attorney, [[Jerry Giesler]], impugned the accusers' character and morals and accused them of numerous indiscretions, including affairs with married men and, in Satterlee's case, an abortion (which was illegal at the time).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/throwback-thursday-errol-flynn-stood-699299|title=Throwback Thursday: Errol Flynn Stood Trial for Statutory Rape in 1934|newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=5 January 2014|access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> He noted that the two girls, who said they did not know each other, filed their complaints within days of each other, although the episodes allegedly took place more than a year apart. He implied that the girls had cooperated with prosecutors in hopes of avoiding prosecution themselves.<ref>''The Jerry Giesler Story''. Simon and Schuster (1960), pp. 144–46; ASIN B001T4F75E<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed, if any --></ref>

Flynn was acquitted, but the trial's widespread coverage and lurid overtones permanently damaged his carefully cultivated screen image as an idealised romantic leading player.<ref>Valenti, Peter ''Errol Flynn: A Bio-Bibliography'', pp. 143–46.<!-- publisher; ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>